Hi Lynn – the vignette is from the lens and likely a wide open aperture (I don’t remember for sure though the light levels were pretty low). The camera has a pretty funky lens that is a Russian copy of a poor east German copy of a good West German lens. They are notoriously awful. This one has some weird out of focus patches across the image, especially when focused close.

I was exploring how it worked. Earle, whose camera it is, warned me about the lens and was with me when I put two rolls of film through it. But I needed to see the results to have any idea at all how to use it. Which exposes the too-often-true fact that I fly by the seat of my pants a lot when it comes to making pictures.

Ha! A storm drain book has been suggested. But the big question would be is there a market for more than half a dozen (I have 4 siblings, 2 parents, 3 kids so if some of them bought it, I might get to 6. Except they would expect freebies).

Yes, funny it is. I fully realise that one has to be prepared to lose money on these projects. Which is of course a huge incentive to embarking on one! But if I know I can sell one copy, then that satisfies the honor component of the enterprise, which is very encouraging 🙂